Another fine warm day greeted competitors for Day 3 of the Australian 3 Days Championships in Queensland. It was make or break day for some competitors eyeing the prize of Australian 3 Day Champion, while for many others improving on results from previous days was the goal.

A number of competitors had an exceptional weekend, winning all three days. A big congratulations to Ross Brighouse (M65A), Neil Schafer (M85A), Gyula Karolyi (M35-44AS), Rob Lewis (M45-54AS), Winnie Oakhill (W14A), Marina Iskhakova (W21A), Anna Hyslop (W35A), Jenny Bourne (W50A), Carol Brownlie (W60A) and Toy Martin (W65A).

On the other hand, there were a number of classes which were very tight at the pointy end of the field. Jock Davis (NSW) overtook Eddie Wymer (Vic) for a 2½ minute win in M45A. Anita Scherrer (ACT) gained a minute on Nicola Dalheim (Vic) in W45A, but fell 26 seconds short of the overall win. It was also close in W45-54AS, where Philippa Lohmeyer-Collins (Vic) took a 28 second win over Vicki Wilmott (NSW).

There were no changes in the overall lead in the elite classes today. In the men’s elite class, David Shepherd (ACT) took the win today, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Simon Uppill (SA) for the overall win. Bryan Keely (Vic) took the overall third place, and a great run by Murray Scown (ACT) moved him up to fourth overall. Oliver Poland (ACT) had a third straight win in the junior elites, handing him a well deserved overall win. Ian Lawford and Oscar McNulty rounded out the top 3 overall.

The women’s elite class was won by Grace Crane (Tas) with Susanne Casanova (SA) about 5 minutes behind in the overall placings. Tracy Marsh (NSW) had her best run of the weekend with a second place today, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Vanessa Round (SA) for the overall third place. Michele Dawson (NSW) had her first win of the weekend in the junior elites, but Lilian Burrill (Qld) had set up enough of a lead over the rest of the field to take the overall win. Amy Buckerfield (Tas) and Heather Muir (Qld) came second and third respectively. The sledge competition was won by Justin Woolford of Tasmania.

The Australian 3 Days also incorporates a number of other competitions on various days. The Family Relays on Friday were won by the team of Matthew Crane, Grace Crane and Jan Hardy, with second place going to the Uppill/Anderson team and third to the Wymer team. In the Australian University Championships held on Sunday, Bryan Keely of Latrobe University and Rachel Effeney of the University of Queensland took the individual honours, with the University of Queensland team the overall champions. The Champion Club Trophy went to Ugly Gully of Queensland.

Congratulations to all competitors in the Australian 3 Days! The Easter 2012 Carnival continues with midweek events at Cascades and Harding’s Paddock, before moving to Brisbane for sprint and long events next weekend.